By Emily Moran
Who would have seen this coming? Bring Me The Horizon, on a random Tuesday, decided to revive their old heavy metalcore roots after years of experimenting with genres like pop, hyper pop and techno… and everybody’s pretty excited. Count your blessings: Repented was announced on April 13 2026, after fans noticed teaser posters in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, featuring ‘Pray For Plagues’, the fan favourite song from the original album.
The album has been reissued for its 20th anniversary, along with four shows, two in the Manchester BEC arena on July 11-12th, and two in America, where the band will be playing the album in full, live, for the first time in decades. Fans are wondering whether vocalist Oli Sykes will be able to pull off such harsh, throat-destroying vocals that he recorded in his early 20s. He quickly put this to bed by releasing an Instagram post of him rerecording some of the original gutturals/vocals, with the caption “took me a minute to learn how to do some of this sh*t again, it’s so nice to see all the love and nostalgia <3” and given the video, after a few coughs and hiccups, it seems like 2006 Oli is still very much alive and well, and ready for these repented shows.
The original album was released on October 30 2006, and Sykes recently reflected on the band’s time writing it. “We didn’t know what the f**k we were writing,” he said. He also spoke about how, at the time, they drew influence from bands like Gladstone to write their absurd lyrics, but are now looking at them through a modern-day lens, considering whether some lyrics may be perceived as controversial. Regardless, the Repented performances show how important Count Your Blessings is to the band and the fans alike, especially the ones who were around when the album came out.
People will now be travelling from across the country to relive the album live. The way Bring Me The Horizon have evolved is also pretty clear – from chaotic deathcore beginnings to one of the biggest alternative bands in the world, all while still holding on to the music that started it all.
The revived interest in older metalcore albums, presented by the Outbreak Festival, has helped bring heavier riffs back into the fold of alternative culture. The festival has grown massively over the last few years, helping the spin-off show move into bigger venues like the BEC Arena, showing the demand there is for hardcore and metalcore events in the UK. Outbreak creates a space by hosting big reunion sets and nostalgia-driven performances for older fans and newer audiences to enjoy. The energy of the original early heavy music scenes is back.
I have tickets for the July 12 show and I can’t wait to see what the band have in store for such an iconic album comeback.
Can’t wait to break some bones in the pit.
